Soil characteristics, latitude and climatic stresses have been found to have significant effects on THC concentrations, and there are seasonal and even diurnal variations (Small 1979; Pate 1998b). However, the range of THC concentrations developed by low-THC cultivars (those typically with £0.3% THC) under different circumstances on the whole is limited, for the most part generally not varying more than 0.2 percentage points when grown in a range of circumstances, and usually less (note information in Scheifle et al. 1999; Scheifle 2000, Scheifle and Dragla 2000). Practically, this has meant in Canadian experience that a few cultivars have been eliminated from further commercial cultivation because they sometimes exceed the 0.3% level (‘Fedora 19’ and ‘Futura,’ authorized in 2000, have now been removed because some test results in several years exceeded 0.3%; ‘Finola’ and ‘Uniko B’ are under probation because of elevated levels), but on the whole most of the permitted cultivars have maintained highly consistent development of quite low levels of THC.
Cannabis is frequently used among Sufis[131] – the mystical interpretation of Islam that exerts strong influence over local Muslim practices in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Turkey, and Pakistan. Cannabis preparations are frequently used at Sufi festivals in those countries.[131] Pakistan's Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh province is particularly renowned for the widespread use of cannabis at the shrine's celebrations, especially its annual Urs festival and Thursday evening dhamaal sessions - or meditative dancing sessions.[132][133]
“The week before we tried it, we had 64 seizures,” Penny told me, noting those were only the visible seizures, while unseen neurological events would likely push the number into the hundreds. “We administered hemp oil, and the next week we logged in 28 seizures. ... The very next week, her second week on the hemp oil, we logged none.” Penny paused and repeated herself, as though she could still only half believe the miracle: “None.”
The question of whether heteromorphic sex chromosomes are indeed present is most conveniently answered if such chromosomes were clearly visible in a karyotype. Cannabis was one of the first plant species to be karyotyped; however, this was in a period when karyotype preparation was primitive by modern standards (see History of Cytogenetics). Heteromorphic sex chromosomes were reported to occur in staminate individuals of dioecious "Kentucky" hemp, but were not found in pistillate individuals of the same variety. Dioecious "Kentucky" hemp was assumed to use an XY mechanism. Heterosomes were not observed in analyzed individuals of monoecious "Kentucky" hemp, nor in an unidentified German cultivar. These varieties were assumed to have sex chromosome composition XX.[31] According to other researchers, no modern karyotype of Cannabis had been published as of 1996.[32] Proponents of the XY system state that Y chromosome is slightly larger than the X, but difficult to differentiate cytologically.[33]

Spring Hope, NC, Nov. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP), a global leader in the industrial hemp industry with bi-coastal processing centers including the largest multipurpose industrial hemp processing facility in the western hemisphere (in Spring Hope, North Carolina), announced today Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has confirmed the provision legalizing hemp as an agricultural commodity will be included in the final version of the 2018 Farm Bill. McConnell initially introduced the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 in the Senate’s version of the farm bill including provisions to legalize hemp, remove it from the federal list of controlled substances and allow it to be sold as an agricultural commodity. When passed, the bill would also allow states to regulate hemp, as well as allow hemp researchers to apply for grants from the Agriculture Department and make hemp farmers eligible for crop insurance.

In short, Cannabidiol – or CBD – is a cannabis compound that has many therapeutic benefits. Usually extracted from the leaves and flowers of hemp plants – though marijuana can also be a source – CBD oil is then incorporated into an array of marketable products. These products vary from the most common, like sublingual oils and topical lotions, to the less common (think CBD lattes). Basically, if you can dream it, you can buy it.

Jump up ^ Juliet Eilperin (February 11, 2013), "'Good seed' versus 'evil weed': Hemp activists eye legalization", The Washington Post – via The Japan Times Online, [A] couple of factors — the high taxes the federal government imposed on growing hemp in the late 1930s and again in the early '50s, and then the DEA's interpretation of the 1970 law — made producing hemp nearly impossible. Since the DEA only grants permits in rare instances and demands costly, elaborate security precautions, large-scale hemp growing in the United States is not viable.
There have been ten clinical trials on the use of inhaled Cannabis in cancer patients that can be divided into two groups. In one group, four small studies assessed antiemetic activity but each explored a different patient population and chemotherapy regimen. One study demonstrated no effect, the second study showed a positive effect versus placebo, the report of the third study did not provide enough information to characterize the overall outcome as positive or neutral. Consequently, there are insufficient data to provide an overall level of evidence assessment for the use of Cannabis for chemotherapy-induced N/V. Apparently, there are no published controlled clinical trials on the use of inhaled Cannabis for other cancer-related or cancer treatment–related symptoms.

Hemp crops are tall, have thick foliage, and can be planted densely, and thus can be grown as a smother crop to kill tough weeds.[45] Using hemp this way can help farmers avoid the use of herbicides, gain organic certification, and gain the benefits of crop rotation. However, due to the plant's rapid and dense growth characteristics, some jurisdictions consider hemp a prohibited and noxious weed, much like Scotch Broom.[citation needed]

In recent years, a wide range of synthetic products, claiming to have similar effects to cannabis, have also been available in Australia. Synthetic cannabis is made up of chemicals that are designed to activate the same chemical systems in the brain as THC. These drugs are marketed as having similar physical and psychological effects as cannabis, but can have more unpredictable effects and are potentially more harmful than cannabis.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), "the amount of THC present in a cannabis sample is generally used as a measure of cannabis potency."[149] The three main forms of cannabis products are the flower, resin (hashish), and oil (hash oil). The UNODC states that cannabis often contains 5% THC content, resin "can contain up to 20% THC content", and that "Cannabis oil may contain more than 60% THC content."[149]
About 9% of those who experiment with marijuana eventually become dependent according to DSM-IV (1994) criteria.[74] A 2013 review estimates daily use is associated with a 10-20% rate of dependence.[41] The highest risk of cannabis dependence is found in those with a history of poor academic achievement, deviant behavior in childhood and adolescence, rebelliousness, poor parental relationships, or a parental history of drug and alcohol problems.[129] Of daily users, about 50% experience withdrawal upon cessation of use (i.e. are dependent), characterized by sleep problems, irritability, dysphoria, and craving.[110] Cannabis withdrawal is less severe than withdrawal from alcohol.[130]
With a hypothesis that chronic marijuana use produces adverse effects on the human endocrine and reproductive systems, the association between Cannabis use and incidence of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) has been examined.[12-14] Three population-based case-control studies reported an association between Cannabis use and elevated risk of TGCTs, especially nonseminoma or mixed-histology tumors.[12-14] However, the sample sizes in these studies were inadequate to address Cannabis dose by addressing associations with respect to recency, frequency, and duration of use. In a study of 49,343 Swedish men aged 19 to 21 years enrolled in the military between 1969 and 1970, participants were asked once at the time of conscription about their use of Cannabis and were followed up for 42 years.[15] This study found no evidence of a significant relation between “ever” Cannabis use and the development of testicular cancer, but did find that “heavy” Cannabis use (more than 50 times in a lifetime) was associated with a 2.5-fold increased risk. Limitations of the study were that it relied on indirect assessment of Cannabis use; and no information was collected on Cannabis use after the conscription-assessment period or on whether the testicular cancers were seminoma or nonseminoma subtypes. These reports established the need for larger, well-powered, prospective studies, especially studies evaluating the role of endocannabinoid signaling and cannabinoid receptors in TGCTs.

The word cannabis is from Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis) (see Latin cannabis),[134] which was originally Scythian or Thracian.[135] It is related to the Persian kanab, the English canvas and possibly even to the English hemp (Old English hænep).[135] In modern Hebrew, קַנַּבּוֹס‬ qannabōs (modern pronunciation: [kanaˈbos]) is used but there are those who have theorized that it was referred to in antiquity as קני בושם q'nei bosem, a component of the biblical anointing oil.[136][137] Old Akkadian qunnabtu, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian qunnabu were used to refer to the plant meaning "a way to produce smoke".[138][139][140]

In Canada, the methodology used for analyses and sample collection for THC analysis of hemp plantings is standardized (at the Health Canada/Therapeutics Program/Hemp web site at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpb-dgps/therapeut/htmleng/hemp.html, see “Industrial Hemp Technical Manual” for procedures on sampling plant materials and chemical procedures for determining THC levels). The regulations require that one of the dozen independent laboratories licensed for the purpose conduct the analyses and report the results to Health Canada. Sample collection is also normally carried out by an independent authorized firm. The Canadian system of monitoring THC content has rigidly limited hemp cultivation to cultivars that consistently develop THC levels below 0.3%.
Hemp, or industrial hemp (from Old English hænep),[1] typically found in the northern hemisphere, is a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically for the industrial uses of its derived products.[2] It is one of the fastest growing plants[3] and was one of the first plants to be spun into usable fiber 10,000 years ago.[4] It can be refined into a variety of commercial items including paper, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel, food, and animal feed.[5]